Friday, October 28, 2016
Suspect 02: Maia

They were going to lie to her.

It wasn't like they hadn't done it before, but Bailey hated the fact that every time they saw Aleigha these days, a lie was coming out of their mouths. The twins walked over and greeted their sister as Christee smiled and pulled Bailey to the corner of the room. He knew what that pull was about. It was the "you're in trouble" pull.

"What is she doing here? I thought she wasn't coming after what happened between y'all."

"You didn't have to bring that up."

She rolled her eyes. "Do you know how upset she's going to be when she figures out what just happened?"

"We're not telling her," Bailey folded his arms. "Luna doesn't want her to know."

"And what we're just supposed to keep this gigantic secret?" Christee smiled and shook her head as people walked around them. "Bailey, you know that this is wrong."

"What am I supposed to do? Tell her that we just saw her missing sister with Kasey before he went to hook up with her other sister?" Bailey dropped his arms and grabbed Christee by her shoulders. "We're lucky she's even at this party."

"Since when did we all start hiding things from each other?" Christee shook away from Bailey's hold.

"The minute Liberty went missing." Bailey scoffed.

The horrid screeching sound from the television began again forcing them to all face the screen. Bailey felt his teeth grinding together as he fought to protect his ears from the noise. On the opposite side of the room, he watched as Aleigha put her hands up to her ears.

He could see her jaws clenching as she struggled to cover her hearing aid in her left ear. Over the years, due to all the loud music that she listened to, Aleigha had torn her eardrum and was forced to get a hearing aid. It was one of the few things that separated Aleigha from Liberty. And like most differences the twins had, Bailey was the only one that knew about it.

Deuce of Diamonds. Sin or secret?

Christee placed her hand on Bailey's shoulder. "Are we really about to play this game?"

"Oh, come on," Bailey laughed. "Aren't you the least bit curious to know what everyone in this room is hiding?"

"Unless it's grad school results, I don't think I care."

"It's Halloween Christee. If there's any way of really knowing what happened to Liberty, tonight is that night."

"You think someone in here is dumb enough to reveal that they know something?" Christee raised an eyebrow.

"I think the right amount of alcohol will make anyone do anything."

Eyes swept across the room as they watched to see whose card it was.

A girl named Maia rose and walked over to the front of the screen. The only reason Bailey knew she existed was that she dyed her hair so many times until someone started making twitter polls to guess what the next hairstyle would be. Today, her hair was the same shade of blue that the midday sky was. The girl was a walking crayon box.

"I've got nothing to lose," Maia reached out and pressed the black box on the screen. "Sin."

The screen turned to static again before settling back in Liberty's bedroom. The room looked entirely different now. The walls had been painted black with pink polka dots in different sizes dancing across it. Her bedding had been changed to pastel pink with matching throw pillows. Posters and pictures of her sisters hung up on walls. LED lights had been hung near the ceilings. It finally looked like someone had taken the time to breathe life into the room.

"This isn't right, Maia and you know it."

Bailey looked over at Aleigha who'd covered her mouth.

The room wasn't Liberty's. It was Aleigha's.

"He's just so charming, Ally." Maia paced back and forth across the floor.

Maia's then lime green hair was in two braids that she paired with a plain yellow shirt with jean shorts. From the look of it, summer had fallen in Greyson. Aleigha sat on the bed with a white blanket wrapped around her halfway not paying attention. She yawned as Maia continued to rant about her current crisis.

"He like Luna last I heard." Aleigha rolled her eyes. "Why do you care about Kasey anyways? He's bad news."

"Is he really?" Maia peered over at Aleigha who sighed.

"I'm not about to play with you."

"No one is playing with anyone," Maia sat down on the floor in front of the bed. "Plus, I asked him. He said they aren't even together."

"You can't trust him," Aleigha shook her head as she bit her lip. "There's something off about him."

"How well did Aleigha and Maia know each other before this?"

Christee exhaled before replying. "Maia went to middle school with us. Used to be super quiet until she met Kasey."

"I know you still feel some type of way after the party but Aleigha, he did the right thing. He brought Liberty home."

"My sister fell asleep in the bathroom. I literally almost stepped on her," Aleigha raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't say that's doing the right thing."

"No," Maia stood up. "You'll see. There's nothing wrong with wanting to get out there. Maybe if you went for the guy you like, we wouldn't be having this talk."

Aleigha scoffed as she looked up at Maia. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means to talk to the Ramirez kid, damn it," Maia responded as she grabbed her bag from near the door. "It's obvious that you like Bailey. So just speak to him."

"It's not that simple."

"I didn't even...Who... I..." Aleigha scrutinized Maia who'd taken a few steps back. "You recorded our conversation?"

"I didn't." Maia folded her arms across her chest. "I should be asking you the same thing!"

"What's the Sin?" Christee folded her arms across her chest. "You picked Sin and so far, all we know is Aleigha was scared to speak to Bailey. No offense."

Aleigha blushed before throwing her hands in the air. "None taken."

"What did you do Maia?" Christee continued to prod.

Maia stared off into space as Liberty's voice filled the air.

Constantine keeps finding my journals, so video recordings are the next best thing. If anyone is listening to these in some fucked up version of the future, well, welcome to my TED talk.

Bailey looked up caught Aleigha's eye.

Aleigha smiled sadly as she waved at him. Christee shot him a look but it wasn't like he could completely ignore her. He waved back causing Christee to shake her head. He could be cordial with her. He had to be.

It was Kasey that introduced the two of us a few weeks ago at the Halloween party.

It was true. There was a story behind him and Liberty. One that Aleigha didn't know completely about. He'd been wanting to tell her for weeks, but the words never came out. And by the time he could form the words, Liberty was gone.

To get me out of the picture, you exposed me to the entire class. I didn't even know that people still did that in college, but you proved me wrong. You allowed two thousand people to record my body at a party that I was overly drunk at

You isolated me from my sisters and even told Kasey to take me home. Aleigha told me I fell asleep in the bathroom, but I told her that I was fine and that I'd just been too tired to move after getting in from the party. After a few more rounds of "are you okay?", she left me there. Which leads us here. Maia darling, enjoy.

"What's happening?" Christee whispered as William made his way over to where they were.

"I think it's called revenge," William offered. "And I don't think this is going to go well."

"You don't say." Christee rolled her eyes before turning back to the screen.

"Have you and Ally talked?" William turned his attention to Bailey. "I caught the head nod."

"What am I supposed to do?" Bailey sighed. "Can't exactly say 'hey I'm sorry for what happened between us even though I was dating your sister.'"

"You and Libby had been on the outs for months." William laughed. "You could at least speak to Ally. Her sister is missing for crying out loud."

"He has a point." Christee leaned back. "Ally isn't going to speak first, and you know it."

Bailey shrugged as Liberty's voice continued.

In seventeen seconds, your darkest secret will pop up on the screen. I know you like to snoop on my laptop and read my messages. I know you've hacked me, the flashing light on my laptop means you've been watching me. But did you know I'd hacked you?

Beeping noises began to circulate the room as one by one people began to pull their phones out.

I hope now, Maia, you see what happens when you pick on someone your own size.

Opening his text messages might have been the worst thing he could have done. A thread of photos from an unknown number filled his screen. Each photo was more explicit than the last. Before he could catch himself, Bailey found himself looking over at Maia. She stood with an unreadable expression.

"Don't all speak at once," She chucked. "It's just ass and tits. We're all adults here."

"Where was this energy when it was Liberty?" Stella spoke up. "No grad school in the state would look at her without my mother calling in some serious favors."

"Before you come to people's defense, Stella Josephine," Maia laughed as she reached down and placed her card on the table. "Think about what they did to deserve it."

"No one deserves to be exposed," Stella mumbled through gritted teeth.

"And yet, little Liberty Emerson isn't here to defend herself," Maia shrugged as she placed her hand on the doorknob, the sound of the door unlocking catching everyone's attention. "After all, dead girls tell no tales."